Ginger Ale Kegged

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tadkays

tadkays

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I am making a 5 gallon batch of ginger ale for my keg. I have not found many recipes written for that purpose on the interweb, so I thought I would share my idea for feedback if any others have tried something like this.

I am not using yeast this time, though I may morph it into ginger beer in the future. I have a food processor in mind for the ginger and juicer for the lemons.

Recipe:
15 lemons juiced via juicer
3# ginger chopped via food processor
3# cane sugar
4 tbsp cream of tartar
5 gallons water

Procedure:
Heat water in kettle to 170F
Add sugar, mix well
Add ginger pieces
Add cream of tartar
Stir, cover, steep 1 hour
Chill to 70s
Add lemon juice, stir
Siphon to keg, seal, refrigerate
Set to 30 psi for 3 days, skake
Set to 20 psi for serving
And... Enjoy!

Thank you for your suggestions.
 
I embark on this experiment today. 14 lemons since we ate one this week and upping sugar to 4#. Hopefully the chopped ginger won't be too much of a hassle.
 
I like to steep AND add fresh ginger. I think that gives it a rounded flavor or something.

I've been doing about 1# sugar per gallon for sodas, but that seems to be just a little too sweet. 3# for 5 gallons sounds better.

What is the cream of tartar for?
 
tadkays said:
I embark on this experiment today. 14 lemons since we ate one this week and upping sugar to 4#. Hopefully the chopped ginger won't be too much of a hassle.
Click to expand...


Maybe wrap a hop sock on the siphon? Or run the siphon through a tea strainer over the keg to catch the pieces?

They'll either sink to the bottom and be sucked out in the first pour, or float and end up in the last pour!
 
Thanks for the insight, y'all! Food processing seemed to work, but I probably should have peeled the ginger as the skin bits are floating. I will be socking the siphon and sending it through a strainer into the keg. Off to juice the lemons and measure the 3 lbs sugar. I read cream of tartar will help head retention, so I am giving that a whirl. Smells great so far!
 
tadkays said:
I embark on this experiment today. 14 lemons since we ate one this week and upping sugar to 4#. Hopefully the chopped ginger won't be too much of a hassle.
Click to expand...

Good luck. I want to do this myself and soon. I like the idea of the cream of tartar (which I added to egg whites to make the peaks stand up when I whip them, so maybe it does help with the head retention).

Slicing the ginger should be quick work with the food processor, right?
 
Well, it's in the keg. The most difficulty I had was siphoning so I just picked up the pot and poured it through a strainer and dumping the pulp intermittently. I poured about 2 cups of dregs into a quart jar and sampled it. It was SPICY! I figure the ginger is more concentrated than what was in the keg though. I had to cut it with seltzer water. Gonna let it cool and get some CO2 on it and try it in a few days. Should be good!
 
Well, it was good! We kicked the keg yesterday and got ingredients for another batch. This time I will try to juice the ginger and use some oranges with a sack of lemons. Off to clean the keg!
 
Batch 2:
Heat 4 gallons water to 180
Juice:
10 lemons
2 oranges
36oz ginger
add to water
add 3# sugar
stir, cover, steep 60 mins
siphon keg
chill in ice bath
refrigerate
pressurize to carbonate
 
Yooper said:
Lots of ideas in the recipe area: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f171/

I've found that while I like the steeped ginger flavor in mine, I think the unsteeped ginger has a nicer ginger "bite" to it and I like that better. I like mine with lemon also.
Click to expand...

When do you ad the ginger if you prefer it unsteeped? I'm looking to make some spicy, non-alcoholic ginger beer for the first time. I'll be kegging it, so I guess I don't need the yeast? Any other tips? Thanks.
 
jmcquesten said:
When do you ad the ginger if you prefer it unsteeped? I'm looking to make some spicy, non-alcoholic ginger beer for the first time. I'll be kegging it, so I guess I don't need the yeast? Any other tips? Thanks.
Click to expand...


No yeast.

I assume unsteeped means adding it fresh and not heating? Add it in a hop sock when you keg. Or add it in a hop dock then remove it before carbonating.

Are you following a recipe?
 
ericbw said:
No yeast.

I assume unsteeped means adding it fresh and not heating? Add it in a hop sock when you keg. Or add it in a hop dock then remove it before carbonating.

Are you following a recipe?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it seems like it would be like a dry hop in the keg. I will be using this recipe:


r2eng
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Inspired by Yooper's recipe, I needed something for the teens to drink tonight. I had a 2.5 gallon keg sitting idle, so here it is:

2 gallons of water at 150F
2 cups grated ginger (juice and shreds were loosely packed)
4 cups turbinado sugar
2 limes, zest and juice
1 lemon, zest and juice

Stir everything together and let steep for until cool. I put the pot outside in 22F air for a couple of hours. Strain and carb.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=214741
 
jmcquesten said:
Yeah, it seems like it would be like a dry hop in the keg. I will be using this recipe:


r2eng
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Inspired by Yooper's recipe, I needed something for the teens to drink tonight. I had a 2.5 gallon keg sitting idle, so here it is:

2 gallons of water at 150F
2 cups grated ginger (juice and shreds were loosely packed)
4 cups turbinado sugar
2 limes, zest and juice
1 lemon, zest and juice

Stir everything together and let steep for until cool. I put the pot outside in 22F air for a couple of hours. Strain and carb.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=214741
Click to expand...


Yes all that works!
 
Ok, I know when doing Root beer it will leave that hard to get out smell/taste...
Will Ginger beer do the same thing or would this clean up like a normal process?
Reason I ask as I don't want to give up another keg for soda if I don't have to.... and if I can do smaller a batch in one of my 3gal kegs I might be more apt to do it this coming weekend.

This recipe really call for 3 pounds (3#) of ginger? seems like a lot.


Thanks in advance.
 
Wingnutj said:
Ok, I know when doing Root beer it will leave that hard to get out smell/taste...
Will Ginger beer do the same thing or would this clean up like a normal process?
Reason I ask as I don't want to give up another keg for soda if I don't have to.... and if I can do smaller a batch in one of my 3gal kegs I might be more apt to do it this coming weekend.

This recipe really call for 3 pounds (3#) of ginger? seems like a lot.


Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

It seems like a lot, but this is meant to be a spicy ginger beer (soda). I will be adding pineapple juice and more lime next time around.

I'm not sure about the flavor in the lines yet. I know root beer is supposed to leave a flavor in the keg, but I think you could change the o-rings and lines to get rid of it.
 
I actually chop my ginger up in a food processor and add it directly to the keg in a nylon mesh hop bag. By the time the keg is carbed up, it has a really nice ginger flavor. I'm actually drinking a glass right now from a batch we made a few weeks back. I use about an 8' long piece of ginger root for a 2 gallon batch. Happy to post the recipe if folks want to give it a try.
 
Please post the recipe. I have done about 8 different batches of GB and the pineapple mint GB was given rave reviews.
It was a variant if PF Changs ginger beer which was
3 parts monin (simple syrup)
2 parts lemon juice
1 part ginger juice.
Water to desired strength level

It's a pretty good recipe I am seen elsewhere online. More like a ginger lemonade then most GBs but great non the less.
 
Sure thing, mine is dead simple...

Combine 2.5 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 gallon of water in a pot and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile roughly peel and chop (in a food processor) an 8" piece of ginger root, and put that into a nylon hop sack.

Combine 1.5 cups lemon juice with enough cool water to make 1 gallon, and pour that into your keg.

Add the hop sack containing the ginger to the keg.

Once your sugar/water solution has come to a boil, take it off the heat, and allow it to cool down for a couple of minutes before pouring that in the keg as well.

Shake like crazy to combine.

Carb at 30 PSI through the out tube for 3 days, and then serve at 30 PSI.
 
Is that a fairly "dry" recipe? Also, do you weigh the ginger? Some peoples "8" root" is not the same as others.
 
I did my ginger by weight. I wouldn't say it's dry, but it's not overly sweet. I can post my recipe if wanted.
 
Mine is definitely not overly sweet. I generally start on the low end with the sugar and increase it as necessary on subsequent batches. For this one though people really seem to enjoy it that way.

I know I should, but I do not weigh my ginger. I basically break off all the smaller fingers and line everything up until I get about 8" or so. Then if I have a little extra I just toss it in anyway ;)

This definitely has a really nice ginger bite to it, but not to the point that it turns people off.

Oh, and we just blew another keg of this last night.
 
Is there a recommended amount (weight) of ginger per liter (or gallon I suppose, I'm a convert) of ginger for hot steeping?

I have changed to fresh after I got some weak steeped bottles... but I've come a ways since then so maybe I should try it again, or a mix? What is the flavor difference?

For fresh I currently do:
- Peel and chop ginger into 1/2in cubes.
- Place in blender and fill water up to match level of ginger cubes, blend until smooth.
- Strain, press, squeeze, whatever to get the liquid out. Filter with a coffee filter if you want the chalky residue to be removed.
- Throw it in a pan with an equal volume of sugar (eg 500ml of ginger "juice" to 500ml volume of sugar.

You're essentially making a ginger simple syrup, this keeps for weeks in the fridge, and maybe would at ambient temps also with all that heat and sugar.

I use a 9/1+ ratio with carbonated water, or water + yeast, and it's about perfect. Can add lemon or vanilla (which is really good actually) and I've tried mint too. Lime kills my champagne yeast for some reason...

So a 500ml bottle will get about 60ml (2oz) of syrup.

Yum. Love reading your recipes too and am interested in trying the steeped method again.
 
jonnybleu said:
Is there a recommended amount (weight) of ginger per liter (or gallon I suppose, I'm a convert) of ginger for hot steeping?

I have changed to fresh after I got some weak steeped bottles... but I've come a ways since then so maybe I should try it again, or a mix? What is the flavor difference?

For fresh I currently do:
- Peel and chop ginger into 1/2in cubes.
- Place in blender and fill water up to match level of ginger cubes, blend until smooth.
- Strain, press, squeeze, whatever to get the liquid out. Filter with a coffee filter if you want the chalky residue to be removed.
- Throw it in a pan with an equal volume of sugar (eg 500ml of ginger "juice" to 500ml volume of sugar.

You're essentially making a ginger simple syrup, this keeps for weeks in the fridge, and maybe would at ambient temps also with all that heat and sugar.

I use a 9/1+ ratio with carbonated water, or water + yeast, and it's about perfect. Can add lemon or vanilla (which is really good actually) and I've tried mint too. Lime kills my champagne yeast for some reason...

So a 500ml bottle will get about 60ml (2oz) of syrup.

Yum. Love reading your recipes too and am interested in trying the steeped method again.
Click to expand...

I think a mix is good. Raw, fresh ginger has a sharper taste.
 
Long dead thread,,,,,,, Any updates?

O/T, but when I keg and carb "Skeeter Pee", I hang ginger in a hop sock in the keg throughout it's life.

Getting ready to do a 5 gallon batch of ginger ale, and was checking for updates.

Thanks!
 

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